Thursday, January 03, 2008

Another Latie

Can't fall asleep, again, so I shall update. Unfortunately I didn't get as much done I would've liked so far, but here's some of my work. Some pieces are more finished and others in progress. I had a great first semester, and even though I scrambled at the end, I think I gained a lot of knowledge and skills. Learned lots about story structure (I'll post the revised storyboards eventually) from my storyboarding class, such as differences between linear, three-act, and concept-driven stories. In my Drawing from Imagination course (aka perspective bootcamp), I practiced new techniques that helped solve complex drawing problems in different types of perspective, and painstakingly learned how to plot shadows in perspective. It was a very technical class with no room for stylization, but it taught me the importance of structure when drawing from imagination, independent of direct reference. Even though I may rely more on intuition in most of my work, rather than technical accuracy, my process will at least be more informed with the underlying principles of perspective, and thus enhance my more stylized work. Yay for formal training!

Finally, I know I really pushed myself with the visual development class. Nicolas was an awesome teacher, the assignments were incredibly interesting (who doesn't love concept art?), and the inspiration was constantly flowing. I just wish that I had developed a more streamlined process throughout the class, so I could get more done in the end. For our final project we had to render a dynamic beat board (see previous post for progress) in which some/all of our characters interacted. At first the ideas and process flowed smoothly and quickly, from thumbnail to basic layout. However, I could not decide which time of day to settle on for the scene, and my teacher said all 3 lightings/colors worked. So instead of narrowing it to one option, I decided to render two different color/lighting versions of the scene. And it was that last 10% of tweaking that seemed to drag on forever, especially when indulging in details. I don't know if this sort of workflow is common in the industry, but I'm definitely going to have to work on speed, time management, and drawing priorities for future projects. Less is more, they always say.

Ricardo TracyConcepts for final project in Viz Dev class

Drawing from ImaginationFirst drawing was from the beginning of the semester, while the colored drawing was the final assignment and is still in progress

Oh! And please check out a bunch of my friends' group project for the Academy Fall Animation Festival:

12 Comments:

Hey Rosie, you seems to already be great at color. I don't know if you would really need to take that class. Maybe film classes or just more drawing classes is all you might want to take. Are there any classes in the MPT program that are just for cinematography? Animation might be cool too, Ed's class would be fun. I think he's teaching Traditional 2 and or 3 for the masters classes.

Hey Rosie, I love your work! And your portfolio is marvelous. You're simply amazing at colors and getting the right mood/atmosphere. These latest pieces feel like they've been sculpted to life purely by paint, and the shapes you play with are so interesting and pleasing. I also like your layout and perspective pieces!

Just curious, how did you come across my blog? 'Cause I see you're at the Academy--which is where I went to school, too! ^__^ I was from the 2D Animation dept.

Anyway, I added you to my Friends! Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

I'm a friend of Jake Rossi and due by association I'm also a friend of Danielle.

I've visited your blog couple of times and admired your work. After seeing this particular work, two things pop in my head: "Oh man, I had a class similar to this and I wish I can kick ass as much as she does and maybe can compare notes/ideas," and "DDAAMMNNN...!"

Leo >> As I responded on your blog, it was great meeting and talking with you as well. I checked out your blog, and totally admire the work that you do. I will definitely be checking your blog and updates out for inspiration.

Brett >> Thanks a lot! I'm still going to take color theory, but over the summer. I don't think I'd be able to survive Cameron and other classes simultaneously. I'll definitely be taking MPT classes (focusing on cinematography and editing) for directed study. And definitely will be taking as much animation and drawing classes as my relevant interests and time/budget will allow.

Banewulf >> Hey thanks for swinging by! It's really inspiring hearing this from an extremely talented artist such as yourself. I actually found you through Nicolas Villarreal's (my former teacher) blog. I ocassionally like to check out the artists who comment on other artists' blogs whom I respect. Ah, networking.

Scott >> I wish I had your brain. How about that, huh? Yeah, that's right. Serriously though, thank you, as always, for your thoughtful and honest comments. It definitely helps to hear what's weak, and what works better. I've learned a lot from you and other grad lab friends, I always weigh your comments seriously.

Ivan >> Thank you so much!! I love Jake and Danielle, and I totally respect both of them as artists, intellects, and human beings. I honestly don't think I'd be where I am today if it weren't for knowing them.

However, one of the things I've quickly learned not only from animation internships, but also from my cumulative (though brief) experience in art school, is to NOT judge your progress solely /primarily in relation to other artists. In doing so you will inhibit your own personal progress and fail to realize how unique you are in potential and talent. And that would be tragic.

hey rosie this is arthur, wow I love your work and your drawings. It makes me want to improve my gestures of figures. Also I love the colors you are using in the last pieces. Alright see you in class as usual!

hey rosie--thanks'fer the comment. looks like you're keeping busy, jeez, haha. love the characters--especially the small guy. your alley scene is awesome too, though i think it might have too many dynamic elements for its own good, you know what i mean? as an illustration it's great, but as a film still it might be heavy on visual information. maybe ditch shorty?

hahaha, you are such a miyazaki nut. send that last pic into ghibli and i swear they'd make a movie out of it.

Hey Rosie, it's been a while. Your hostage taking piece is AMAZING. Makes the stuff I did in Viz Dev back in the day look like total crap! Seriously though, the composition is fantastic; so much depth and story in it. Thanks for sharing!

your work on this project always impressed me. the female characters beautiful fresh and original proportions is refreshing to see, really like the colors in the warmer painting and awsume monster in the last painting. keep it up.